In one day, a political season that has been saturated in polarizing dialogue, characterized by questions of morality and driven by fears of the all-too-known and all-too-unknown will resolve in the election of the 45th President of the United States. The hundreds of millions of dollars spun into all kinds of campaigns, the countless hours of precious news space dedicated to minute details of election coverage, the nightly dinner-table conversations and classroom debates that both divided and brought together more people than most previous elections, have led up to tomorrow. Suffering from a kind of political fatigue that our country has never experienced, we will finally make our decision, and that will be that.
This election season is one that I personally can’t wait to see end. And yet, it’s one that has inspired the activation of the American people and the spirited participation of my millennial generation, and it’s one that I’ll strangely miss.
I’ve tried to maintain a non-partisan stance since I became a legal adult, a point of view that is demanded of many journalists who face the flurry of today’s myriad biased news cycles. I’ve done my best to balance the onslaught of political conversations that face a prospective voter, young American and opinion editor of a college newspaper. I’ve challenged perspectives when they were single-minded and have had to hold my sometimes-disparaging tongue when healthy discourse included some disagreeable arguments. And I’ve embraced the opportunity to criticize the Democratic Party, which became my party the second I was born to two showbiz people in California, as well as to adopt some ideas and values of the Republican Party into my expanding political ideology.
But despite my best efforts to strike and maintain a truly moderate political view, I am surprised to find myself having been so easily dragged toward one end of the spectrum during this 2016 presidential election cycle. It contemptuously spat on my attempt to be unbiased. It pissed me off. It gleefully ignited fiery conversations held by my friends and my family. It dangerously heated classrooms and once-productive discussion about the news and about politics, as well as intensifying interminable Facebook rants and grammatically-embarrassing 3 a.m. tweets. It knowingly set fire to the entire nation as it recklessly torched the usual “doldrums” of fact-based arguments and civil discourse.
To be completely honest, “it” is not so much the election as it is Donald Trump. In any other presidential election, I might have been able to lend my voice toward unbiased narratives and an all-encompassing perspective. But for the sake of my own conscience, I can’t play devil’s advocate of neutrality and objectivity any longer.
In my opinion, Donald Trump and his constituents speak on behalf of what’s holding our country back from its natural course of progress. Donald Trump has shown himself unable to evolve as a candidate, to acknowledge his mistakes and to represent anything close to what it means to be American, despite his empty claim to being a “Republican.” His supporters have failed to embrace certain basic American values, ranging from a love of country to the freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as they stand behind tunnel-visioned, misinformed, hateful rhetoric to support their own self-interests. As a journalist, I’ve given up the fight for objectivity in the treatment of Donald Trump as a potential president of the United States and, as a citizen, my vote reflected that.
But mine is only one inflamed opinion of 250 million voting-age Americans. My political embers were stirred by the fires of so many people with so many individual perspectives investing in this year’s political processes: a worthy cause for sacrificing a valiant attempt at moderation.
This election has mobilized—if not inspired—the electorate, of which many face an unsatisfying choice between two historically unpopular candidates. Americans are actively finding ways to make their voices heard, informing themselves on issues found on local, state and national ballots, traversing across party lines and campaigning—whether it be directly in the camps of candidates or indirectly by promoting dialogue in the various shared forums enabled by an increasingly communicative world. This is the type of concerned political activity that connects a public to its government, and people to each other. It creates and sustains passionate involvement and action which requires responsibility and ownership of opinion.
The cultivation of advancing this passionate attitude is far more important than my single vote, regardless of who becomes the next president. Once our tried and true democracy works to decide the election, starts the process of a peaceful transition of power and turns the leaves of the election season either red or blue, many of us will be tempted to revert to the comfortable norms of political inactivity. Such a yearning is understandable, whether it comes out of frustration with the election night’s outcome, exhaustion from the effort or even cynicism born out of the pageantry of the process.
But there is no defensible reason to shy away from the continued pursuit of a better political system, and of real progress for this country. It’s especially important when it comes to dealing with the aftermath of this unique election. A significant subsection of the population will be disappointed by the outcome Tuesday night, and will feel unrepresented by the next president of the United States.
For argument’s sake, let’s assume that the polls are accurate and the Trump voters experience the loss. To think that the divisive and incendiary supporters of Donald Trump will simply fall back into the hidden crevices of everyday life is to discount their passion, and the passions with which Americans of all ideologies have taken to this election. The election of the 45th President, one day from now, is not merely the culmination of this year’s exceptional political activity; it’s the beginning of a long-term project to reach a better political process for this country. A path that may lead us to offer more popular presidential candidates, who are at least more deserving than Donald Trump.
This election season has initiated too many important conversations regarding the direction and definition of our nation to seal them all based on one polarizing decision to be made on one overhyped evening. No matter who wins and who loses in tomorrow’s heated political moment, I hope the American people remain forever inflamed.
Jackson Prince is a Trinity sophomore and editorial page editor. His column, “playing with fire,” runs on alternate Mondays.
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